William Ruto has mastered the art of persuasion, morphing himself occasionally, with his narratives resonating with grassroots voters.
However, analysts argue that Ruto is under pressure to convince the nation that he has a solution to Kenya's economic woes. Despite launching projects that offer a lifeline, such as the Hustler Fund, others, like the Housing Fund, raise questions about his economic strategy.
One of the controversial projects, they say may make him unpopular is the Housing Fund, with him arguably making the project perceived as a row between those with and without payslips. The opposition has been championing the narrative that Ruto is targeting the working class, forcing the government to reject and demystify the allegations.
Governance experts, on Sunday, June 4, explained that the hustler/dynasty politics was very instrumental, at the time when President William Ruto took over power. He capitalized on the bottom-up agenda, which seemed to focus on hustlers, before shifting his focus on taxing working Kenyans to support those struggling to make ends meet.
However, the ongoing debate on payslips was centred on the Housing Project being open to every Kenyan.
Political analyst Martin Andati believed the government was not using the 3 per cent housing levy to divide the people as alleged by Ruto's critics.
“You can’t divide the people, along those with or without payslips. Maybe critics misunderstood the government in pushing the housing agenda,” stated Andati.
The political analyst added that the issue should not be mistaken for dividing the employed and the unemployed, insisting that each Kenyan has an equal opportunity to invest.
On the other hand, he urged the government to develop better ways of selling the housing agenda, which the citizens could easily understand.
Dr. Brian Mutie, a governance specialist and an advocate of the High Court of Kenya concurred, explaining that the housing scheme was open for every Kenyan, with or without payslips.
Mutie maintained that each Kenyan stands an equal chance of benefitting from the affordable housing program, which does not discriminate against anyone along social background or social class.
“Each Kenyan has an equal chance of benefitting from the affordable housing plan, its not about payslips. Anybody can choose to be part of the program by contribute directly towards the housing fund without using a payslip,” he noted.
Andati added that the government had rolled out the public-private partnerships, the Boma Yangu initiative that would ensure equal opportunity for all Kenyans.
On his part, the University of Nairobi lecturer Herman Manyora explained that the government was developing a pooling fund that won’t discriminate against anybody in the program.
“There is a formula that is going to be applied to ensure those who contribute towards the housing project benefit, it doesn’t matter whether a person has a pay slip or not,” posed Manyora.
"Lawyer Duncan Okach was of the contrary opinion, explaining that the president’s comment on those with or without payslips may be seen as discriminatory.
“The President insisting on those with payslips makes those in formal employment feel disadvantaged, since the issue of taxation should be applied equally to all Kenyans,” Okach explained.
Ruto on Housing Fund
In his latest attempt to push the affordable housing agenda, President William Ruto insisted those with payslips contribute 3 per cent of their salaries towards the program.
On May 11, Ruto explained that the amount would be deducted from the salary of every employee and an additional 3 per cent contributed by employers.
"In the housing fund plan, employees are to remit 3 per cent every month, and the employers will give 3 per cent. The six per cent will be the employees' wealth. That money is yours and not tax, all that money belongs to the people. We cannot fail to do this programme because it provided jobs for the millions of young people leaving our learning institutions," Ruto explained.
“Those with pay slips are lying to those without pay slips because they don’t want the housing fund levy deducted from their salaries. They want the jobless to continue struggling without pay slips.” Ruto added on May 28 at a Thanksgiving ceremony in Busia, underlining that the project would offer job opportunities to millions of Kenyans.
Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that of the 3 million Kenyans employed in the formal sector, 1.8 million workers earn below Ksh50,000.
KNBS data also reveals that 17 percent of employed Kenyans with pay slips earn below Ksh30,000, indicating that most employed Kenyans earn very little besides loans and other deductions.
